TEST 2 STUDY GUIDE Introduction Test 2 will be given in class… (see class schedule).  Emphasis will be on those subjects addressed in the text AND in lecture (about 50-50, lecture versus text, in terms of where test questions will come from).  Obvious duplications are obvious things to look at more closely. The test is worth 100 points.  The format is multiple-choice.  Expect to be able to interpret maps and diagrams.  Bring a calculator. Study Strategies Read ahead.  Read early.  By now your are a veteran 104 student.  You can expect Test 2 to be similar in many ways to Test 1.  You probably have already figured out that cramming the night before the test puts information in your head but not context.  Knowing definitions for highlighted terms in the textbook alone will earn a C.  Knowing how the things described by these terms fit together gets you the A.  Being conversant with these connections is very challenging.  Especially, I think, for brand new students of Geography.  How do you study for something like this?  We think it is better to study intensely, a few hours or sessions over a few days than to do it all at once.  Some people do best when they see it, hear it, then write it (information).  Try recopying your notes or making a few flash cards. Study guides come in many forms.  Some instructors provide detailed, specific lists of concepts for students to study.  Others provide no input beyond listing the chapters to be covered on an exam.  In either case, the goal of the instructor is to develop your independent skills at collating, prioritizing, and assimilating content.  I believe that learning how to learn is as important as the information provided in this course.  Learning how to learn is why you are in college.  I hope that this class will help you take a step toward becoming a master learner, someone who can coolly and effectively dissect new information, distinguish the important from the unimportant, prioritize it, and make connections between it and information from your own pre-existing knowledge and experience.  Hence, to foster the development of this skill, I will provide you with some practice.  This study guide will provide study strategies and alert you to "markers", ways to determine relative significance of given bits of content.  It will also provide some specifics like, "know this, be able to define that, etc."  Strategies For Studying The Text Study the text first.  Content presented in lectures weaves in and out and through that presented in the text but the framework, the "cosmic structure" of this course, at least within chapters, closely follows that of Christopherson.  At the beginning of each chapter Christopherson provides you the reader with a list of key learning concepts that will be answered in the chapter. You should be able to explain, describe, relate, identify, distinguish the key learning concepts when you are finished reading the chapter (I recommend writing out your responses to these concepts as part of your test preparation).  Consider these as excellent sample test questions.  Christopherson also provides a summary and review at the end of each chapter.  Use these as a catalyst to crystallize your understanding of the subject matter presented in the chapter and in lectures.  Practice preparing written answers to the questions in these sections too. Chapters in Christopherson are extensively outlined (SECTIONS, main headings, subheadings, subsubheadings) and key concepts, phrases and words are highlighted, italicized and/or put in boxes.  This outline = Christopherson's priorities!  The highlighted concepts and definitions are used to link information together.  They are the "dots".  If you can connect the dots you have mastered the chapter. Do not forget to read and carefully examine the figures in each chapter.  News reports and figures are particularly fertile ground for test question generation.  The few students who believe me when I say this are well-served.  LOOK AT THE PICTURES! NEXT PAGE OF STUDY GUIDE